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Trump to Meet Elite Troops Who Captured Venezuela's Maduro

FILE PHOTO: A photograph posted by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him standing near CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the US military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, US, January 3, 2026. @realDonaldTrump/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A photograph posted by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him standing near CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the US military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, US, January 3, 2026. @realDonaldTrump/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
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Trump to Meet Elite Troops Who Captured Venezuela's Maduro

FILE PHOTO: A photograph posted by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him standing near CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the US military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, US, January 3, 2026. @realDonaldTrump/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A photograph posted by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him standing near CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the US military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, US, January 3, 2026. @realDonaldTrump/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

US President Donald Trump will meet on Friday with the special forces soldiers who captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a deadly raid in Caracas in January.

First Lady Melania Trump will accompany her husband for the trip to greet the troops at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina, the White House said.

The stunning operation saw US forces swoop in by helicopter under cover of darkness and seize Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from a highly secured compound in the Venezuelan capital on January 3, reported AFP.

Eighty-three people were killed and more than 112 people were injured in the assault, which began with US bombing raids on Venezuelan military targets, Venezuelan officials said.

No US service members were killed.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and the first lady would "meet with military families and the heroic members of our special forces who carried out the successful 'Operation Absolute Resolve' in Venezuela and helped bring narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro to justice."

Maduro is currently in detention in the United States facing charges of drug trafficking and other crimes, to which he has pleaded not guilty. His next court hearing is scheduled for March 17 in New York.

Trump approved former vice president Delcy Rodriguez to replace her deposed boss Maduro on the condition that she comply with his demands on access to oil and on easing state repression.

The US president has repeatedly hailed the Maduro operation as an example of his country's military might as he asserts Washington's right to dominate its backyard.

In a rally in Iowa in January, Trump hailed the "spectacular" operation by a "group of unbelievable talented patriotic people that love our country. You couldn't hold them back."

Trump has also spoken about a secret weapon he dubbed the "discombobulator" that was used to disable Venezuelan equipment -- and potentially personnel.

"I'm not allowed to talk about it," Trump said in an interview last week with NBC News. "But let me just tell you, you know what it does? None of their equipment works, that's what it does.

"Everything was discombobulated."

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World

Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
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Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed on Sunday to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war with Israel and the United States continues.

"If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force," said the Guards on their website Sepah News.

 

World

Pakistan Says Hit Military Facilities in Afghanistan

A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
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Pakistan Says Hit Military Facilities in Afghanistan

A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)

Pakistan said on Sunday its forces had attacked military facilities in southern Afghanistan, as well as "terrorist hideouts", in the latest strikes between the two sides.

Security sources said troops "effectively destroyed technical support infrastructure and equipment storage facility in Kandahar", which is home to the Taliban administration's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Another strike targeted a tunnel in Kandahar purportedly used by the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban militant group or TTP, which Islamabad blames for a wave of strikes, they added.

Local residents in Kandahar told AFP they saw jet planes flying over the city and heard explosions during the night.

"Military planes flew over the mountain where there is a military facility, and an explosion followed," one said, adding flames could be seen.

An air strike was also heard in Spin Boldak, southeast of Kandahar, residents said, while authorities in the eastern border province of Khost said there were clashes on Saturday night.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP that the strikes caused some damage to a drug rehabilitation center and an empty container in Kandahar.

"The places they are talking about are far away from these two places," he added.

Pakistan said on Saturday it had thwarted "drone attacks" launched by Afghanistan which were intercepted on Friday night.

At least three locations were targeted, including the Pakistani military headquarters in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, authorities said.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's office said the Afghan Taliban had "crossed a red line" by targeting civilians and promised a response.

Islamabad launched a military operation against Afghanistan last month, targeting what it said were Islamist extremists following attacks in Pakistan.

The Taliban government has denied any involvement or the use of Afghan territory for militancy, while Pakistan insists it does not target civilians.

There have been repeated clashes at the border in recent weeks, hampering trade and forcing nearby residents to leave their homes.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said on Friday that at least 75 civilians have been killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan as a result of the clashes since February 26.

World

American Flag Raised at US Embassy in Venezuela for the 1st Time since 2019

The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
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American Flag Raised at US Embassy in Venezuela for the 1st Time since 2019

The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

The American flag was raised Saturday over the US Embassy in Venezuela for the first time since 2019, a move that highlighted the recent shift in relations between the two countries since then President Nicolás Maduro was captured by American troops in January.

Though the flag is now waving, the building is undergoing renovations and it remains unclear when it will fully reopen.

The move comes after several statements from US President Donald Trump in support of Maduro’s successor, acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who has tried to keep negotiations open with the American government.

The flag was raised "exactly seven years after it was taken down,” the US Embassy team said in a statement published on its social media channels.

The American flag being raised drew immediate attention from local residents.

“It’s a good thing, really, what a joy,” said Caracas resident Luz Verónica López. “Other countries must come back too because that’s what we need; progress, to move forward with good relations with the rest of the world, as it should be.”

Alessandro Di Benedetto, another Caracas resident, noted the positive atmosphere among those witnessing the moment.

“I found several people here surprised and happy because today they raised the US flag at the embassy,” he said. “This is positive; this is another step.”

Despite the initiative, large chunks of Venezuelan society and the political establishment remain critics of Trump, his decision to forcefully remove Maduro from office and jail him in New York with his wife, and growing US influence in the South American country's oil industry.